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George W. Bush through the years

George W. Bush was born July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Conn. He is seen here with his parents, George H.W. and Barbara Bush.

George W. Bush with sits with his brother, Jeb, in 1955.

Bush attended Yale University, which is also his father's alma mater, from 1964 to 1968.

Here, Bush is seen in baseball garb at Yale University. He played second base.

After college, Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard from 1968 to 1973.

Bush is seen here in his National Guard uniform.

George W. Bush strikes a pose on the steps to his Texas National Guard fighter plane.

George W. Bush looks over the dials in the cockpit of an F-102.

George W. Bush and Laura Welch Bush were married in Midland, Texas, on Nov. 5, 1977.

George W. and Laura Bush vacation at Walker's Point in Kennebunkport, Maine, in late 1970s.

Bush looks on as his father, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, addresses a Reagan/Bush rally in May 1984. Bush’s daughter Jenna sits on his knee.

George W. Bush with wife, Laura, and their daughters, Jenna and Barbara, in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1991.

George W. Bush became governor of Texas in 1995 and made a run for the presidency five years later. Here, he and members of his family despair during the 33rd Ryder Cup match played at the Brookline CC in Boston, Massachusetts, in September 1999.

During the 2000 election, Bush was running against Vice President Al Gore. Bush narrowly lost the popular vote but ultimately won in the Electoral College, therefore winning the presidency, after a lengthy vote recount in Florida.

U.S. President George W. Bush (C) meets with Secretary of State Powell, (L) Vice President Dick Cheney and other Cabinet members at the White House the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, and Vice President Dick Cheney walk on the South Lawn of the White House prior to Bush''s departure for Europe July 18, 2001.

George W. and Laura Bush are seen here at the inaugural ball honoring George Bush's first inauguration in January 2001.

President George W. Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, are seen in the Oval Office shortly after the younger Bush takes office in 2001.

The Bushes were only the second father-son duo in U.S. history to have both held the presidency. The first pair was John Adams, the nation's second president, and John Quincy Adams, the sixth president.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, marked a defining moment in Bush's presidency. The morning of the attacks, Bush was reading to a group of students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla. Bush already knew a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers in New York when he entered the classroom, according to an interview with National Geographic, but at that time an accident seemed the most likely explanation. The reading event was cut short shortly after an aide whispered to Bush that a second plane had hit the Twin Towers.

Bush is seen here on Sept. 11 after departing Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, conferring with Vice President Dick Cheney from Air Force One while looking at the smoldering Pentagon during his flight to Andrews Air Force Base.

In one of the most iconic images to emerge in the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush stands on top of rubble at the World Trade Center site with retired New York City fireman Bob Beckwith. "I can hear you," he told rescue workers. "The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush's focus turned to combatting terrorism, a focus that remained for much of his presidency. He is seen here addressing a joint session of Congress and the American people on Sept. 20, 2001, where he declared a "war on terror."

President George W. Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act into law in October 2001. The act, as a response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, significantly reduces restrictions in law enforcement agencies' gathering of intelligence within the United States, including the expansion of the scope and availability of wiretapping and surveillance orders. The title of the act is a 10-letteracronymm that stands for Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism.

In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

President George W. Bush signs a congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq on Oct. 16, 2002.

President George W. Bush outlined his justification for invading Iraq during his 2003 State of the Union address. Bush claimed that "the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." The accuracy of those words would be debated for years, and launched a Justice Department investigation after a covert CIA agent was outed.

In a now infamous moment, Bush told a cheering crew aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, thatU.S.forces had brought about a "turning of the tide" against terrorism. Underneath a banner reading “Mission Accomplished,” the president said the conflict with Iraq marked the beginning of “a new era” in waging war.

In 2004, Bush went up against Sen. John Kerry in a bid for re-election. This time, Bush won both the popular and Electoral College vote.

The Bushes dance at a ball honoring Bush's second inauguration in January 2005.

Bush appointed two Supreme Court justices to the bench. The first was federal appeals court judge John Roberts, who Bush picked to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in July 2005. Roberts was then nominated and confirmed chief justice when then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist died in October 2005.

With Roberts filling Rehnquist's seat instead of O'Connor's, Bush nominated Samuel Alito for her position in October 2005. The Senate would go on to confirm Alito by a 58–42 vote on Jan. 31, 2006.

Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by U.S. President George W. Bush upon his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in 2008.

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush with one of their pets, Miss Beazley. She was a birthday present from the president to Mrs. Bush.

President George W. Bush signs the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 into law within hours of its congressional enactment. The law, enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis, creates the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program to purchase failing bank assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, and supply cash directly to banks.

In December 2008, Bush was almost struck by two shoes thrown at him by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi during a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq. In March 2009, al-Zaidi would be sentenced to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign head of state during an official visit. The sentence was later reduced to one year and al-Zaidi was released on Sept. 15, 2009, for good behavior after serving nine months of the sentence.

The Apollo 11 crew poses with President George W. Bush in 2009 in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 flight.

Bush's interest in baseball continued after college. Before becoming the 43rd president of the United States, Bush was a part-owner of the Texas Rangers. Here, he throws out the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game in 2009.

Bush has, for the most part, kept a low profile since leaving office, but he has made some public appearances. Here, he stands with his successor, Barack Obama, at ground zero in New York to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, former U.S. President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush, former U.S. President Bill Clinton Jill Biden and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden take part in the dedication ceremony for the Flight 93 National Memorial Sept. 10, 2011 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The memorial honors the passengers and crew on the plane that crashed during a terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

Bush's presidential library officially opened in May 2013 in Dallas, Texas. Bush was joined by every living president for the dedication, including President Barack Obama and former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

"Laura and I gave the presidency eight years of our life," said Bush during an interview right before the library opened. "We gave it our all. Made the best judgment calls I could. I didn't compromise my principles. And I'm a content man. And I am excited about what we're going to do here."

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